The second-largest ride-hailing company in the U.S. is aiming to sell 31 million shares at $70 to $72 each to raise as much as $2.2 billion, according to a filing Wednesday, March 27. Lyft had been marketing the shares at $62 to $68 apiece. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Already, this is playing out in Monrovia, which has a partnership with ride share company Lyft for its GoMonrovia transportation program. The city will up its fares on Nov. 1 by 50 cents in anticipation of increased costs from the ride hailing company. The City Council unanimously approved the pricing shift Sept. 17, one day before the governor signed off on Assembly Bill 5.

Currently, GoMonrovia offers $2.50 shared Lyft rides, $5 solo rides and 50-cent rides to and from the city’s Gold Line station and anywhere in Old Town Monrovia. Come Nov. 1, Lyft rides through GoMonrovia will cost $3 in the general service area and $1 for rides to and from the Gold Line, Old Town Monrovia and area hospitals, Mello said.

The shift will generate about $180,000 over a year for the city’s transit budget, Chi said.

This isn’t the first price adjustment the city has imposed on GoMonrovia, which launched in March 2018. In the pilot stage, Lyft rates were 50 cents per ride to and from Old Town and the Gold Line station, 50 cents for shared rides and $3 for standard rides.

When the city shifted ride costs in May, 50-cent rides to and from Old Town Monrovia and the Gold Line station were maintained, while shared and standard rides rose $1 to $2.

It won’t be the last upward price shift either, Chi said.

Although the city has $1.2 million in restricted funds to use for GoMonrovia expenses, the budget is so tight that any change from Lyft or the state will require a corresponding price adjustment to the city’s program, he added.

“This program has been in the red for some time,” Mayor Tom Adams said. Raising GoMonrovia fares is “more about catching up than reacting to Sacramento,” he added.

Tyler Shaun Evains is a reporter covering Manhattan Beach and El Segundo for The Beach Reporter and the Daily Breeze. She was previously a news assistant with the San Gabriel Valley Newsgroup. She received her Bachelor's from University of La Verne where she was the editorial director and arts editor for the Campus Times, staff writer for La Verne Magazine and staff photographer for both publications. She also helped charter the first traditionally African-American sorority at ULV, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. in 2017. Tyler served as the historian and social media manager for ULV's chapter of the organization.

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